Two gay students who attend an all-boys Catholic school will be allowed to attend a school dance as a couple. That's the word from the President of McQuaid Jesuit High School in Brighton.

The students had asked for permission to attend McQuaid's Junior Ball as a couple, and there was even an online petition to support them.

In a lengthy note to parents Wednesday, school president, Father Edward Salmon, said, "If our two brothers who have asked to attend the Junior Ball wish to do so, they will be welcomed." The full text of the note is below.

Father Salmon went on to say that he was not encouraging or condoning homosexual activity, or contradicting church teachings.

The students are both juniors at McQuaid, and according to online petitions, openly gay.

Here is the full text of Father Salmon's note.

March 27, 2013

Dear Sisters and Brothers of our McQuaid Jesuit Community:

Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, in the homily for his Inaugural Mass, had encouraging and inviting words: "Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation and to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds."

Darkness and heavy clouds have gathered here at McQuaid recently because of misinformation, fear, misunderstanding, and even anger. That misinformation, fear, misunderstanding, and even anger came about after two of our brothers asked whether they could attend the Junior Ball together. Into the darkness of misinformation, fear, misunderstanding and anger, together with Pope Francis, I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who bring hope to one another. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who look upon one another with tenderness and love. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to open up a horizon of hope, to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds.

I myself would like to let a ray of light break through by correcting some misinformation. It is simply not true, as was reported and as many seem to have assumed, that a decision had been made by McQuaid authorities not to allow the young men in question to attend the Junior Ball. No decision had been made.

I would like to let a ray of light enter into the darkness of fear. I, together with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who in their Pastoral Message, "Always Our Children," ". . . call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons. We understand that having a homosexual orientation brings with it enough anxiety, pain and issues related to self-acceptance without society bringing additional prejudicial treatment."

I would like to let a ray of light enter into possible misunderstanding of the Church's teaching. In that same message, Always Our Children, the Bishops are clear --"Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes and behaviors." The Bishops continue: "It is also important to recognize that neither a homosexual orientation, nor a heterosexual one, leads inevitably to sexual activity. One's total personhood is not reducible to sexual orientation or behavior." In that same message, the Bishops refer to a 1986 Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which emphasizes that "Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them."

The Bishops continue, "It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons 'must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2358). They, as is true of every human being, need to be nourished at many different levels simultaneously. This includes friendship, [brotherhood] which is a way of loving and is essential to healthy human development. It is one of the richest possible human experiences. Friendship can and does thrive outside of sexual involvement."

Lastly, I would like to let a ray of light into the darkness that anger can bring. Based on the misinformation circulating and a certain misunderstanding of Church teaching, some people began posting prejudicial and humiliating comments in the social media. Speaking or writing or acting out of anger is not usually helpful. Others, however, deeply concerned for the dignity and respect of all persons, wrote thoughtful and encouraging e-mail messages to McQuaid officials.

In conclusion and in the hope that I and all of us at McQuaid Jesuit will let a ray of light break through the darkness and the heavy clouds that have surrounded us, I have made the decision that, if our two brothers who have asked to attend the Junior Ball together wish to do so, they will be welcomed.

With this decision I am not contradicting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to human sexuality; I am not encouraging nor am I condoning homosexual activity just as I do not encourage or condone heterosexual activity at a dance. I am not contradicting the Church's opposition to the redefinition of marriage. With this decision I invite and encourage us all, as Pope Francis does, to exercise care, protection, goodness which calls for a certain tenderness "which is not a virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness."

It seems like liberals always like misquoting CCC 2358. They always quote the sentence that states, They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. They quote, Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided without meditating on the word, "unjust" (i.e., not all forms of discrimination are unjust).

It's very rare that you hear the acknowledgement that homosexuality is objectively disordered out of the mouths of the liberals (a condition that is objectively disordered in this context is a condition that, if acted on, will always be sinful under every single situation. Always).

Liberals also seem to have a hard time with the last sentence in that paragraph, These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. (Fulfilling God's will in their lives would refer to them living chastely)

The whole CCC paragraph reads:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,140 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."141 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

Specific guidance that the Church has given to Her ministers regarding this is:

...Nevertheless, increasing numbers of people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as though it were not disordered and to condone homosexual activity. Those within the Church who argue in this fashion often have close ties with those with similar views outside it. These latter groups are guided by a vision opposed to the truth about the human person, which is fully disclosed in the mystery of Christ. They reflect, even if not entirely consciously, a materialistic ideology which denies the transcendent nature of the human person as well as the supernatural vocation of every individual.

The Church's ministers must ensure that homosexual persons in their care will not be misled by this point of view, so profoundly opposed to the teaching of the Church. But the risk is great and there are many who seek to create confusion regarding the Church's position, and then to use that confusion to their own advantage.

I’ve already emailed Fr. Salmon and expressed my outrage concerning this! I didn’t go to McQuaid but my older brother did and Fr. Salmon is allowing a once great secondary educational institution sink into the pit of moral relativity! This Jesuit has a skewed moral compass!

Given the tuition costs on the local Catholic schools that were published recently, I’d be past hopping mad if I were paying that kind of money for the school and church leadership to send me a letter saying they were going to ignore a tenet of the faith. And, yes, I know the public schools are already doing the same in their choices with my tax money.

4
posted on 04/02/2013 3:24:06 AM PDT
by T-Bird45
(It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)

This is no surprise. Mcquaid Jesuit HS is in the RC Diocese of Rochester which, up until last year, was under Bishop Matthew Clark, a longtime supporter of LGBT community. As the shepherd leads, the sheep follow. He served the diocese for 30+ years. Upon his retirement, Pope Benedict XVI told him to step down. The diocese is temporarily under the direction of the Syracuse Diocese.

11
posted on 04/02/2013 4:14:36 AM PDT
by NYer
(Beware the man of a single book - St. Thomas Aquinas)

In my opinion, religious schools should discourage even the appearance of “mating” behaviors among their students, insisting that the organization is devoted to education - growth in practical knowledge and active virtue - not to facilitating sin.

Perfect example of why Hell would literally have to freeze over before I sent my kid to a Jesuit school.

My oldest is looking at colleges now, and I’ve had to nix about 90% of the (Catholic) schools in the book. So far only Christendom (at the top of the list), Franciscan U at Steubenville, Belmont Abbey, and Ave Maria have made the cut.

I went to Cardinal Mooney. I did represent my school, St. Augustine, in the McQuaid Spelling Bee, but got knocked out in the second round. Fr. Salmon made a very bad call and he really needs to examine in conscience and reconsider.

According to an article in LOsservatore Romano, as Cardinal, Bergoglio said that if a proposed (Argentine) bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved, it will seriously damage the family.

He made the statement in a letter addressed to each of the four monasteries in Argentina, asking the contemplatives to pray fervently that legislators be strengthened to vote against gay marriage and adoption.

He wrote: In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of Gods law engraved in our hearts.

Cardinal Bergoglio continued: Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy Gods plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a move of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.

I think it boils down to Fr. Salmon saying that going to a dance together is not the same as anal sodomy. Kids could go to dances in groups, and it wouldn't mean they were having group sex.

Nevertheless, he managed to make it sound like ambiguous quasi-courtship behavior between two boys is OK, and "scandal" and "near occasion of sin" don't exist. In other words, he is neglecting his priestly role as moral teacher. Shame on him.

Notice how he name-drops Pope Francis, twice. The Pope must be very careful as the world is watching his every action and listening to his every word, with clowns like this ready to twist them to support their agenda. I pray the pope is not a Manchurian candidate. Maybe the SSPX wasn’t some dumb after all, refusing to go for the bait and switch.

To be fair, Fr. Salmon didn’t approve homosexual fornication. He just said they could come to the dance. Maybe this whole dilemma could be avoided if they dropped the dances; or if they required the kids to come in groups so they wouldn’t be seen as couples?

I'd always assumed that if a guy says he's gay, that means either he has a sexual relationship with another guy, or at least he wants it publicly known that he's looking for a sexual relaioship with a guy.

But I've discovered in casual conversation that some self-described "gays" are, as it were,, insulted if you say that. It's like they're saying "What makes you think this is all about sex??!"

To some it seems like almost an aesthetic category, or a temperament, as if one were to say "I'm sensitive" or "Inwardly, I have a crush on a boy" or even "I don't feel out-of-place with gay guys" or "I relate to queer music and websies" (analogous to "I feel like an emo" or "I hang out with goths" or "I like Carly Rae Jepsen.")

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